INTRODUCTION TO ASTROLOGY A BEGINNER S COURSE WORKBOOK INCLUDES QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ALISON PRICE
2 INTRODUCTION TO ASTROLOGY A beginner's course workbook Published by Alison Price Copyright 2012 Alison Price ISBN 978-0-9920698-0-3 Library and Archives Canada First PDF ebook edition 2013 License Notes: This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or if it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. Cover design and photography by Claire Price Software credit ~ all calculated charts in this book have been created using Solar Fire V8 premium astrology software for PC, with the kind permission of Astrolabe, Inc.
3 To David, my husband and friend with love.
4 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS HOW TO USE THIS PDF EBOOK INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1: SIGNS CHAPTER 2: PLANETS CHAPTER 3: HOUSES CHAPTER 4: CHART DIVISION CHAPTER 5: ASPECTS CHAPTER 6: SYNTHESIS END NOTES APPENDIX I: ANSWERS APPENDIX II: GLOSSARY OF TERMS APPENDIX III: ASTROLOGY ORGANIZATIONS APPENDIX IV: ASTROLOGICAL SHORT FORM CODES
5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank all my astrology teachers over the years for their expertise, encouragement, patience and understanding ~ Andrew Patterson, the late Dr. David Saunders, Polly Wallace, Cat Cox, Diane Marcus-Page and Martin Lipson. I also wish to thank all my students, clients and readers who have both bought and enjoyed this book and who have been inspired by astrology on their personal life journey. March 2012 HOW TO USE THIS PDF EBOOK Introduction to Astrology with Q and A was written as an ebook to encourage you to be a more effective astrologer. It is designed to help you to reach your full potential by finally getting a grasp of this fascinating art. It is crafted to show you clearly how to find the important information in a chart. A professional astrologer can cast a chart and within ten minutes extract the main features. There are many interesting side issues and back roads to go down in any chart interpretation. This is the danger for beginners too much information (TMI). The creation of Introduction to Astrology a beginner s course in astrology is part of my introductory astrology lessons. These classes may be taken in person at my home/office, via Skype and elearning through email. The in-class lessons are over a six week period. I believe there is a need to have the material available as an ebook for those who would like to work through it alone. This book is laid out in sections. Questions about the work covered in every section are at the end of lesson. The answers are found in Appendix I. If you can, resist the temptation to look ahead and sneak a peak.
6 INTRODUCTION Much as the Moon creates the tides by exerting a pull on the seas and oceans of the Earth. We are constantly being made aware of the presence of the Moon. If you live near the sea you may be familiar with surfers. They go down to the beach when they hear the cry Surf s up meaning, the tide is coming in very strongly, and creating an inward flow enough to enjoy surfing on the crest of those waves. Ask yourself, Would a surfer paddle out to catch a wave when the tide was going out? Of course not! How could they surf in towards the beach if the tide was against them? The flow of the sea would just drag them out further into deeper waters. This is quite obvious. Tidal motion is a lunar phenomenon that we are all familiar with and we accept it because we can see it in action. Consider then the other planets and how they may affect us. Astrologers have observed over thousands of years particular traits in people with the same planetary patterns and placements in their birth chart and they have correlated these attributes. In this way we can generalize and say that Virgos are detailed oriented and Gemini s are great conversationalists. Admittedly this is a broad stroke. Astrologers have more information to bring to bear simply gathered by observation over nearly three and a half thousand years. It makes sense to work with the rhythms of the universe and literally go with the flow. Your life may be easier if you knew when to stop and when to move forward. Work with the planets. My short surf story is the example I often use to explain astrology at work. To have even a little edge on life is to your benefit. What are you waiting for?
7 CHAPTER 1: SIGNS The signs are the roles or parts we play the what. There are twelve signs of the zodiac. The signs begin at Aries the first sign and go through to Pisces the last sign. Each sign is 30 in longitude. Every sign begins at 00 00 and ends at 29 59. Signs table The Sun passes through each sign of the zodiac every twelve months starting at the Vernal Equinox (around March 21st) when the Sun s path crosses the celestial equator going north it enters the sign of Aries. Note Zodiac vs. Constellation: The Sun s apparent path through the sky is known as the plane of the ecliptic. All the signs of the zodiac are found on the plane of the ecliptic. A constellation can be any groups of stars. A constellation does not need to be found on the plane of the ecliptic e.g. Orion. It is easy to confuse zodiac sign names with constellation names although they did originally begin the same.
8 Which planets to count? When making an assessment of the weighting in a chart we count the planets. Often you are asked to count all the planets but it is suggested you go for quality rather than quantity in planetary counting. Most people can relate to the visible planets in their chart and are somewhat at ease with these energies. The outer planets are not simple to integrate into daily life and if they are not well placed (conjunct a personal planet or on an angle) they really can be a mystery. The three outer planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are know as generational planets for a reason. They spend years in any one sign and influence whole generations for up to twenty-five years an example is the Pluto in Scorpio generation where all people born between 1983 and 1994 may have Pluto in Scorpio which results in one count for the water element (Scorpio) and one count for the fixed mode (Scorpio). Neptune was in Libra on and off from 1942 to 1957. This means Neptune was fifteen years in the cardinal air sign of Libra. Planets Table
9 Quality planetary counting recommended For quality planetary interpretation only count the seven visible planets from the Sun to Saturn. Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. This is the recommended planetary count in this book. Quantity planetary counting For quantity planetary counting add up the ten planets from the Sun to Pluto. Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Some will even count Chiron and give a mark to the Ascendant sign and the MC sign. Sign Polarities There are two polarities in astrology. The polarities are masculine or feminine but can be referred to as active or passive. Each polarity has six signs associated with it and the two polarities alternate from one sign to the next the signs. Polarity shows a balance in nature much like a magnet with a positive charge at one end and a negative charge at the other. The energy is ejected from the positive side and absorbed by the negative side. This process cannot function without both polarities being present in equal measure. We are often attracted to those who balance our polarity. In a chart one is said to be a positive person or a negative person. The positive and negative charges are in balance on Earth. You may be more positive than negative or more negative than positive but it means you will be attracted to other people who fill your polarity void. For instance if you have more planets in signs in the active polarity you will be attracted to people who are mainly passive and if you have planets in the signs in the passive polarity you are attracted to those who are active. This is especially so in relationships between male and female. It is the natural flow of energy and we are constantly drawn towards other people (almost magnetically) who can compliment the energy in our charts.
10 Polarity balance Strong polarity A polarity is considered strong when there are five or more planets in one polarity. Weak polarity A polarity is considered weak if there are two or less planets in a polarity. Masculine (active) polarity The masculine signs are Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius and Aquarius. Strong masculine polarity Charts with five or more planets in the masculine polarity are active, positive, extroverted and make an impression on those around them. They eject energies out into the world. The masculine polarity is associated with the concept of yang. Weak masculine polarity Charts with two or less planets in masculine signs are considered weak in regard to the masculine principles. Feminine (passive) polarity The feminine signs are Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn and Pisces. Strong feminine polarity With the feminine polarity emphasized in a chart the individual is passive, negative, introverted and introspective. They are able to absorb and accept situations and things. The feminine polarity has an affinity with the principle of yin. Weak feminine polarity Charts with two or less planets in the feminine signs are considered weak in feminine principles.
11 The Elements There are four elements (triplicities) in astrology fire, earth, air and water. Each sign is attributed to one element. Every element has three signs. The elements show how we experience and process the world around us. The Fire signs are Aries, Leo and Sagittarius. The fire signs are masculine. The Earth signs are Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn. All earth signs are feminine. The Air signs are Gemini, Libra and Aquarius. Every air sign is masculine. The Water signs are Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces. Each water sign is feminine. Elemental strength Elemental balance: The elements are considered to be in balance when the planets are equally spread amongst them. For example one planet in a fire sign, two in earth, two in air and two in water shows the elements are in balance. Elemental emphasis: An element with two planets more than the next best element is considered strong. For example four planets in fire and two in earth, zero in air and one in water give a fire emphasis as there are two planets more in fire than in earth. Elemental weakness: An element without planets is considered weak. For example in a chart where there are no planets in fire, none in earth, four in air and three in water, fire and earth are both weak. Fire Earth Air Water Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer Leo Virgo Libra Scorpio Sagittarius Capricorn Aquarius Pisces
12 A short story about the elements in the garden It all began when Fire was out and about in the garden and, standing in a sunny spot, had an inspiration. Let s create a fabulous place and encourage all these birds which visit our garden to rest here, said Fire. I will design and make a shelter for the birds, said Earth who went off to purchase building materials at the hardware store to make a sturdy home for their winged friends. We will call it Chateau Cardinal! decreed Air. I will inform everyone that I have named it so, as he dashed off to spread the word. Water arrived carrying a bag of birdseed and a water dish. I will care for these birds. I will provide food, clean water and nurture them, said Water eyeing-up next-door s cat.